9 Miners Underground over 5 Years in Afşin

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Nine workers who died due to slope failure occurring every other four days in coal site in Afşin district of Maraş province five years ago are still underground.

Hacı Mehmet İpek, Muhsin Koşan, Adnan Demir, Tuğran Gökhan, Nail Yılmaz, Kemal Elmaz, Cuma Yıldırım, Aydoğan Polat and Halil Tatlı have been underground for five years.

Two slope failures took place in the coal site on February 6, 2011 and February 10, 2011.

In the first incident one worker, and in the second incident 10 people amongst whom are one mining engineer and one geological engineer lost their lives. Body of one worker was gotten out following the incident, yet the other nine could not be reached despite five years have passed by then.

Required documents were not given over “trade secret”

Chamber of Mining Engineers has said they submitted petition on different dates to Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and concerned institutes as to the occupational fatality, yet they were not given requested documents over allegations such as “trade secret” and “not being a party as a chamber to the incident”.

The chamber highlighted that the bodies must be delivered by the ministry to their families. Even if delivering is not possible, the ministry should share with public of what it has done so far and its future plans regarding the matter.

According to report of Worker Health and Occupational Safety Assembly, 73 miners in 2015, 386 miners in 2014, and 93 miners in 2013 died. (NV/TK)